In Wayne County: Karate teacher adjusts kids' attitudes

Heather Stone / The Detroit News    "You can't get a better high than seeing someone do the right thing, " karate teacher Carl Tate says.

By Craig Garrett / The Detroit News

Carl Tate says he knows how to keep impoverished kids from turning to the streets and possibly ending up in prison.
    It takes just a few dollars and some physical labor.
    It's martial arts, and that's what Tate teaches and preaches to low-income kids.
    "You can't get a better high than seeing someone doing the right thing," said Tate, 36.
    Tate -- a seventh-degree black belt in the Korean martial art of tae kwon do -- is looking to revive a program he started at one of the city's two large public housing projects three years ago. He took kids for a couple of nights each week and instilled discipline and respect using karate.
    "Anyone coming in with a street attitude got a quick adjustment," he said. "It's amazing what happens with some push-ups and an hour of physical exertion."
    Inkster Police Sgt. Greg Hill helped Tate find a community center near a public housing project to work from. The program worked extremely well until funding dried up last year.
    But Tate, who now has a martial arts studio in Inkster, plans a comeback. He wants to get involved with poor kids again.
    He still recalls some of the success stories from his early work.
    "We had one kid with E's on his report card and a bad attitude," Hill said. "He was basically a bully. That kid today helps his teachers in school. We get this program started again and he'll be the first one at the door."
    Tate is an Inkster native who started martial arts training at age 12. Three years later, he earned a black belt in tae kwon do.
    He left the city at 17 to become the Oklahoma state karate champion in 1988. He was planning to open a training dojo there.
    "Then my father got sick and I came back," he said. "I couldn't believe what had happened to my city; it was different, things were bad."
    So rather than leave, Tate decided to help. He opened a tae kwon do training center in 1989. But the money ran out.
    Tate said local churches may be the answer to reviving the training program. Several have called with assistance.
    "Karate gives kids a positive outlook on their lives," said Tate, the father of seven children. "It opens doors that have never been opened, or may never open."

Email: blackbeltofkarate@telus.net  

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